


Box of Trust

by clownerooni



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Minor Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Panic Attacks, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22920607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clownerooni/pseuds/clownerooni
Summary: Clover just knows how to handle things.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Box of Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Dude im laughing why did I name this box of Trust

"Qrow, you need to calm down _right now_." Clover's voice was more serious than he'd ever heard it, very assertive and strong, he wasn't asking, he was ordering.  
And Qrow felt confused and a little numb and a lot of tense.

His chest constricted and he realized that he couldn't grab a hold of his breath, like it was being crushed out of him over and over again.  
He hyper-fixated on his arms stuck out in front of him, hands facing skywards, curling into fists and slowly curling out.  
His shoulders were shaking.  
His mind was at a complete blank.

There was something that set him off like this, he just couldn't remember what after Clover seemed to materialize out of thin air.  
Now he was too distracted thinking about how crazy he must look, and how he felt like this was such a goddamn overreaction. 

"You're having a panic attack." Clover stated, hovering his hands at Qrow's shoulders. He spoke soothingly now and the older man felt embarrassed. 

"Don't worry." He rasped, unconvincing. "I just gotta… Take a minute." 

"Yes, you do." Clover assured, "and you need to be taking deep breaths." Qrow met the other's eyes for a brief moment, startled by the intensity of them.  
He grimaced and stubbornly tried to show that it was easy to take one measly deep breath. But he gasped, and then gasped again, and then he wheezed.  
Fuck.

His face was getting unbearably hot under Clover's watch, so humiliated that he was doing this not only in front of someone he hasn't known for very long, but in front of James' right hand man, the steadfast leader of the finest military in Atlas.  
As far as he was concerned, the man had way better things to do than to be dealing with a grown man acting like… A child.  
Or something.

"Don't, don't look at me like that." He bowed his head and the sudden heavy thump of his heart startled him.  
"Just, this. I don't want you to- This sucks." He chuckled humorlessly, hurriedly running his hand through his hair.  
He tried to grin but it looked more like he was going to cry.

"Qrow. It's fine. I just want to help." Clover waved his attention back up and gestured to himself. Then he took a very slow, deep breath.  
"You're not bothering me." 

God he felt so pathetic.  
He didn't even get halfway through his first breath before huffing, but of course, Clover was there to encourage him. 

"In… and out… in…"  
He kept taking deep breaths, demonstrating for Qrow and setting the pace that he needed, to find an even rhythm. 

"Stand up straight…" He guided, softly, and tentatively pressed down on Qrow's shoulders. "Drop these down- geez you're really tense."  
Clover paused to look shocked, and pushed down a little more firmly.  
Qrow looked at him helplessly but did as he was told, though his posture really begged him to curl in, and honestly just to lay down.

"Close your eyes, too, if it helps." He closed his own eyes, lifted his chin up, and slowly lowered his hands down. Breathing in through his nose, and out from his mouth.  
Qrow couldn't close his eyes.  
"You're okay. Nothing else is going on." He lilted on, with a content smile on his face.  
Qrow's breathing was softer, but still short, and his pupils were blown and wild, he seemed to be shaking a little harder.

"You're in Atlas," he started, sounding a bit sweeter, "Ruby is here, Yang is here, Blake, Weiss, Oscar- they- we're all here." Qrow perked at the words, a little taken off guard.  
But it cast the faintest amount of relief on his mind.  
Qrow grit his teeth, and glanced around at his surroundings.

The lights of the Atlas streets, the frosted sidewalks, the snow softly falling around them, and even Clover himself gave off the heavy feeling of fabrication. Like none of it was real.  
It was like floating in a dream, hazy, hard to grasp.  
And for some reason he felt like he was in danger, something was wrong, he was locked up, frozen.  
It all fell into place and he understood Clover's words.

"Wherever you are, this is not it." He was stern again, and he didn't even know what was going on in Qrow's head but he knew how to handle it with ease, like practiced skill.  
A steady presence that Qrow had apparently really needed to ground himself.  
"You're not in danger…" he quirked his lips and feebly added, "anymore."

Speaking of...

Qrow put focus into how they had just taken out a very large horde of Grimm.  
Big to the point of having some pretty close calls.  
He remembers losing sight of everyone.  
He could hear Ruby, shouting something, but with the jaw of a Beowolf snapping in his face he couldn't keep a grasp on it.

He just had a thing, he needed to be aware of his surrounding partners.  
He didn't like being blinded.  
He hated not knowing. 

Qrow needed to be able to dive in if he were needed.

Then he remembered Clover, a Griffon relentlessly targeting him and Qrow couldn't escape the black mass surrounding him.  
He saw the extended beak, saw Clover way too close to it.  
And then he couldn't see.  
And then Clover yelled out.

Qrow inhaled sharply.

and Clover finally opened his eyes, giving Qrow among one of the warmest looks.  
But his eyes filled with worry.

It startled him, and he flushed.

"We're all okay." Clover said quietly, gesturing toward himself, then casting a glance over to the airship that was… Actually waiting for them.  
This man was reading his mind.

"Th-thanks." He said with his voice laced with exhaustion.  
He still felt like he needed to run, to escape from the numb vessel his body had become, and his head was swimming with muted fear.  
The fear of losing anyone else.  
The fear of feeling this way.  
The fear of staying this way.

But everything that Clover said was true.  
Everyone was here, he was here, there was no more danger.

Clover placed both hands on Qrow's shoulders, gripping them firmly. 

"Are you alright?" His concern was suffocating.  
Qrow let the weight of his hands settle in.

"I'll be okay."


End file.
